hiked to the famous Delicate Arch, it was perfect
the actual hike wasn't too bad, a little bit of an elevation gain but nothing you couldn't handle
the feeling you get right as you reach the arch is surreal
you feel accomplished, accomplished that you reached one of utahs famous landmarks
not to mention it's beautiful and mysterious…how did it get made?
Delicate Arch = check

had to take a pic of the love birds

Delicate Arch is in Arches National Park

Distance- 3 miles

Elevation Change- 480 ft

Keep in mind that there is no shade on this hike so it's not intended for really hot days.

Also this year the parking lot will be under construction so parking is limited.

We went to Lake Tahoe and Yosemite NP recently. The top 5 words to describe my trip are gorgeous, exhausting, cold, adventurous, and stunning!

If you guys haven't been to Yosemite it is a place you have to visit at least once in your lifetime!

But it's not easy to get there, believe I know!

Here are MY tips for planning a trip to Yosemite National Park

Yosemite Falls upper and lower

1. Time of year

With my research I found that if you want to see the amazing waterfalls at their best you have to visit Yosemite in the spring time. But be careful, spring time and Memorial day weekend are the busiest. I went the weekend before Memorial day and it wasn't that busy, but then we had bad luck with the weather. That's the other thing about visiting in the spring time, the weather is so unpredictable. Weather can also play a part on how you actually get to Yosemite Valley. If it's early enough in the spring time you can only enter the park from the West side because Tioga Pass, which is the major highway that enters the from the East is usually still covered in snow. The National Park Service website is updated daily on the road conditions about all major highways in the park. When we went we got lucky and were able to drive the gorgeous Tioga Pass into the park, but as we enjoyed our time in the park the pass closed due to snow.

Mirror Lake

Can you see how many layers I have on??

2. Attire
If you are going to visit in the spring time, be prepared for that unpredictable weather that could occur and don't let it stop you from seeing the falls and hiking the hikes you want to do. Bring waterproof shoes and a rain jacket along with your usual camping/traveling attire. Although some bad weather can cause you to be blue, it sure makes for a unique and beautiful photographs than the usual sunny weather day.

Cloudy weather….

Tunnel View

Sunny weather…Tunnel View

3. Accommodations

There are 4 types of accommodations that are common when visiting Yosemite. You can camp, stay in the hotel, backpack, and/or stay just outside the park.

If you plan on camping there are 13 campgrounds in Yosemite NP, 4 of those are in the Valley. Out of the 4 of those, 3 require a reservation that needs to be set at least 5 months in advance (can do that here). The last one is on a first come first served, but be in line early it fills by noon.Backpacking is a great way to be able to see all 1,100 square miles if you have the time. Make sure you're prepared by packing everything out, correct food storage, and wilderness permits.

I don't know much about staying outside the park, but there are little towns I believe about 45 minutes outside the park with hotels. The little towns were so cute though as I drove through them.

There are hotels/lodging in Yosemite called The Ahwahnee (AAA Four Diamond hotel), Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, Curry Village, and Housekeeping Camp. Here are simple descriptions of each one. The Ahwahnee- fancy and expensive, Yosemite Lodge at the Falls-centrally located in the valley and easily accessible to all things, Curry Village- standard motel rooms, cabins and canvas tents, last Housekeeping Camp-3 concrete walls and a canvas roof gives you the camping with a tent feeling, there are showers available here too.

When I went we camped in Upper Pines campground. Since we went in May I had to reserve right when reservations were open up in January. The camp spots went super fast and actually I didn't even get the one I wanted. Upper Pines was a nice campground, it had all the usual campground water, parking, and fire pits. The only thing different with camping there from camping in Utah was we weren't allowed to have fires in the morning. I guess the collection of smoke can cause the Valley to become smoggy, so you were only allowed to have 1 fire a day. Bathrooms were fine, flushable toilets and running water. They have bear lockers in each camp spot and it's a must to use them, there was actually a few bear sightings in our campground while we were there.

Lower Yosemite Falls

Bridalveil Falls

4. What To See

Now that you have picked when you're going, what you're going to wear, and where you're going to stay it's time to research what you're going to see. Oh man there is so many hikes, views, and falls to see that there is no way I could talk about all of them here. Instead I'll just point out the ones that I saw or wanted to see.

The Valley offers views of Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil Falls, El Capitan, Sentenial Rock, and Half Dome. To get to the bottom of Yosemite Falls and Bridalveil Falls it's a short walk on a paved walkway which is very family friendly. The Mist trail is a hike that leads you to Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls, I wasn't able to do this hike but really wanted too. We did do the Mirror Lake Loop which was easy and so pretty once we got to the lake. Literally there are too many hikes to name so here is a link so you can do some research.

There is more to Yosemite than just hiking, you can also go rock climbing it's a rock climbers heaven, fishing, horse back riding, birdwatching, rafting, and biking. The Valley can get very crowded so it's best to either ride the shuttle that has frequent stops at the bottom of all popular hikes or take a bike to ride around on.

5. Just do it!

No, this isn't a Nike commercial, it's ten times better. This trip taught me to just do it, 'it' being whatever you set out to do unless of coarse it might cause harm to you or others…damn it, the nurse in me just came out. I didn't just do it when I went to Yosemite, I let the rain get me down and stop me from doing a few hikes and seeing what I set out to see during this trip. And that my friend is my new life lesson!

Until next time Yosemite where I will do the whole trip completely different!

I wanted to do this post at the beginning of the year, but couldn't fit it in so you get it today! My bucket list includes cost effective locations for me to travel. As you see I travel often, I'm on a road trip at least monthly. I enjoy seeing and getting to know the wonders around me. With that said here are the top 10 locations I want to see in 2015 in no certain order.

1. Death Valley National Park, California

Going in April 2015

2. McCall, Idaho

3. Big Sur, California

4. Glacier National Park, Montana Two Medicine Area

Going Sept 2015

5. London, England

Going July 2015

6. Lower Calf Creek Falls, Utah

7. Subway Trail, Zions N.P. Utah

8. Steamboat Springs, Colorado

9. Spooky Gulch, Utah

10. 7 Falls, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Whoa! That was so hard to just say the 10 locations I want to go! As you probably noticed I have some of those trips planned for this year.

Welcome to Tibble Fork Reservoir. The infamous location for Utah County bloggers to runaway to and take some fancy pictures. One Sunday I thought I'd take a little drive up American Fork Canyon and check it out.

Well I lied, it's defiantly a hideaway for all of Utah County and not just it's bloggers. When we finally arrived there it felt as if I was at a local park. There was everyone and their dogs there. It was such a nice day they all had the same idea as we did. I was surprised to see fishermen and then a pack of snowmobilers in the same parking lot, that's how crazy Utahs weather has been. My first impression other than it was crowded was...this is it, it's like a pond...but the water color was pretty amazing and minus the size it was beautiful all around. Jeff and I only stayed for about 15 min and then decided to head on back down and find a fun place by the river.

This is our fun place by the river we found. It was just a turn off and I thought it looked so pretty with all the down tree trunks. We walked down the road a bit to find a small slope to walk down and enjoy the river all by our lonesomes.

Another Sunday adventure complete. American Fork Canyon was fun, we didn't see all of it because we didn't have the time but I hope to explore it more in the future.

To get there:
Take I-15 until you get off exit 284 and head east (or toward the big mountains) stay on that road and you'll run into the rangers booth where there is a $6 fee to enter. Support your local canyons!

This was the first time visiting Causey. I had heard a lot about it from friends and a few family members so I though it might be fun to take a quick little day trip there and see what it was all about.

When I was told how to get there I was also warned about the major pot holes in the road and that I might need a higher clearance car. Higher clearance car meaning something higher than my Civic Si that is lowered 2 inches, yep I'm a car nerd too! But I figured I could try and explore as far as the Civ would let me. It got Jeff and I to the lake and then some of the road was pretty icy so we decided to stick around the dry ground and not have to call for a tow.

It was pretty cool because the lake was frozen and you could hear it cracking and moving. I've never heard that before. At first it scared me, lets be honest.

In the winter it looks like there was ice fishers out there. In the summer I know this is a popular place for fishing, cliff jumping, and camping. I'm going to have to try camping out there in the summer. I just got a new camping hammock and dying to try it out.

Whats your fav thing to do at Causey? I'd love to hear from you!

If you'd like to visit Causey Reservoir heres how to get there.
Head up Weber Canyon
Get off the Mtn Green exit
Follow the road until you reach the gas station and turn L and start heading over Trappers Loop
Once over Trappers Loop turn R
Make your way around Pineview Reservoir until you see the gas station
Turn R and start your way up Monte Cristo
You'll see a sign pointing toward Causey about 10 miles up the road.